Information, Uncertainty, and the Waging of War

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Information and Information gathering are ingrained and essential components in armed conflict. Information analysis, gathering, and comprehension makes up the brunt of strategy development and the planning of operations during war. 

       The two primary branches of information (abstract information and concrete information) both play a role in the development and carrying out of war. 

Concrete information usually deals with the "hows." In other words the physical components of war. The weapons, troops, transportation, and the locations and amounts of these things.

Abstract information usually deals primarilly with the "whys" of war. These include the ideologies and belief systems of the conflicting actors of the war. Abstract information often includes the objectives and goals of the combatants as well as their justifications and reasoning for waging the conflict to begin with.

Concrete information is easier information to gather intelligence on. This is because it is Physical and hence "measurable." You can collect data on it a lot easier than you can with abstract information. 

      Abstract information, especially the information pertaining to ideologies, religions, and belief systems are often shrouded in a much larger degree of uncertainty and ambiguity. It is not physical and as a result it is difficult to quantify. It is often more of a psychological/mental phenomenon. 

   It also differs and diverges often from person to person or group to group in the way that beliefs of different sects of religions diverge from one another, and even the ideas, ideologies, and beliefs of individuals in certain groups diverge from one another, either slightly or sometimes substantially.

    Concrete information, since it is more physical, is more established and "set in stone" in the shared external reality of human beings and the world. Physical, measurable things are not as deceptive or ambiguous. Once you discover them, the data on concrete information is substantial and less shrouded in uncertainty the more you discover, catalogue, and analyse the physical information. 

     Since concrete information exists physically and measureably and has a foundation in shared physical external world, it exists whether it is being observed or not. Once observed, studied, and/or analysed, uncertainty significantly dissipates around that object, situation, or thing.

      You may be able to hide a physical thing, lie about that physical thing on record, or break that physical thing, but its physical existence cannot be erased or destroyed without some sort of evidence of its existence. This is because of the first law of thermodynamics. Energy can neither be created nor destroyed. As a result, the object and traces of that object can never be completely eliminated.

    The physical world's existence is absolute and established with a solid foundation in reality, no matter whether conscious entities are observing objects within or sections of the physical universe or not. Even if you break something into pieces, the pieces still exist.

    This fact makes intelligence gathering on concrete information easier and valuable because of its measurability and quantifiability. 

Concrete information during war would include the position of weapons and personnel of your enemy and their strategies and tactical plans they are going to attempt to use against you, as those immediate plans and procedures will have a very real-world, physical effect on you or other people or property somewhere in the world at some point. 

Cutting through the uncertainty of these things is imperative in beating the enemy in combat or preventing terrorist attacks and attacks in general and responding to them accordingly

Understanding the physical "hows" of war is extremely important and paramount to the objectives of a conflict.  Even so, regardless of the high ambiguity and uncertainty involved, understanding the abstract "whys" of war is absolutely important. They "whys" are what drive warfare. They are often what start wars. 

Understanding the abstract information that make up the "whys" of why your enemy is waging war against you is extremely strategically advantagious. You can use those "whys" against your enemies through psychology and propaganda tactics. 

Since abstract information is a mental/psychological phenomenon, it provides the foundation of psychological warfare, and that is where the "whys" of war are formulated, developed, and implemented

Regardless of the immense uncertainty involved, understanding the abstract "whys" of war is of a value that, like abstract information in general, can be quite unquantifiable. That does not mean the value is low. Quite the opposite actually. It can be quite high. Understanding the "whys" gives you the ability to possibly prevent future wars. Obviously this has immense psychological, social, and economic value to a society